The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 1

Wayward daughters. Missing Husbands. Philandering partners. Curious conmen. If you've got a problem, and no one else can help you, then pay a visit to Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's only - and finest - female private detective. Her methods may not be conventional, and her manner not exactly Miss Marple, but she's got warmth, wit and canny intuition on her side, not to mention Mr J.L.B. Maketoni, the charming proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors.

My Italian Bulldozer

When writer Paul Stewart heads to the idyllic Italian town of Montalcino to finish his already late book, it seems like the perfect escape from stressful city life. Upon landing, however, things quickly take a turn for the worse when he discovers his hired car is nowhere to be found. With no record of any reservation and no other cars available, it looks like Paul is stuck at the airport. That is, until an enterprising stranger offers him an unexpected alternative.

Mrs Pargeter's Principle

For Mrs Pargeter, it is a matter of principle that she should complete any of her late husband's unfinished business. Amongst his many bequests, perhaps the most valuable is his little black book, in which he listed all the people who ever worked for him, with details of their particular skill sets. This means that whenever Mrs P has a crime to solve, she can readily contact someone with the relevant expertise.

The Hog's Back Mystery

Dr James Earle and his wife live in comfortable seclusion near the Hog's Back, a ridge in the North Downs in the beautiful Surrey countryside. When Dr Earle disappears from his cottage, Inspector French is called in to investigate. At first he suspects a simple domestic intrigue - and begins to uncover a web of romantic entanglements beneath the couple's peaceful rural life. The case soon takes a more complex turn.

44 Scotland Street: 44 Scotland Street, Book 1

The story revolves around the comings and goings at No. 44 Scotland Street, a fictitious building in a real street in Edinburgh. Immediately recognisable are the Edinburgh chartered surveyor, stalwart of the Conservative Association, who dreams of membership of Scotland's most exclusive golf club. We have the pushy Stockbridge mother, and her prodigiously talented five-year-old son, who is making good progress with the saxophone and with his Italian.

Warm, humorous and uplifting, Alexander McCall Smith's hugely popular novels featuring Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of Botswana's only female private detective agency, have become international bestsellers, sold over seven million copies, and been translated into 26 languages. These acclaimed productions, complete with vibrant music, bring the exotic world of the books vividly to life.

The Green Mile

At Cold Mountain Penitentiary, along the lonely stretch of cells known as the Green Mile, killers such as "Billy the Kid" Wharton and the possessed Eduard Delacroix await death strapped in "Old Sparky". Guards as decent as Paul Edgecombe and as sadistic as Percy Wetmore watch over them.

The Sunday Philosophy Club: An Isabel Dalhousie Story, Book 1

Amateur sleuth Isabel Dalhousie is a philosopher who uses her training to solve unusual mysteries. She edits the Review of Applied Ethics and hosts The Sunday Philosophy Club at her house in Edinburgh. Behind the city's Georgian facades its moral compasses are spinning with greed, dishonesty and murderous intent. Instinct tells Isabel that the young man who tumbled to his death in front of her eyes at a concert didn't fall. He was pushed.

For Kicks

When the horse that wins a race gallops in with frothing mouth and popping eyes, what is more natural than to suspect that someone¿s slipped a booster into his oats? With eleven steeplechasers hurtling over the finish line in this pepped up states and all the dope tests conclusively negative, the Earl of October had something of a problem if he wanted to preserve the health of his favorite sport.

Jeeves and the Wedding Bells

A gloriously witty novel from Sebastian Faulks using P.G. Wodehouse's much-loved characters, Jeeves and Wooster, fully authorised by the Wodehouse estate.Bertie Wooster, recently returned from a very pleasurable soujourn in Cannes, finds himself at the stately home of Sir Henry Hackwood in Dorset. Bertie is more than familiar with the country house set-up: he is a veteran of the cocktail hour and, thanks to Jeeves, his gentleman's personal gentleman, is never less than immaculately dressed.

All Creatures Great and Small: The Classic Memoirs of a Yorkshire Country Vet

The inspiration for the BBC series of the same name. Fresh out of Glasgow Veterinary College, to the young James Herriot 1930s Yorkshire seems to offer an idyllic pocket of rural life in a rapidly changing world. But from his erratic new colleagues, brothers Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, to incomprehensible farmers, herds of semiferal cattle, a pig called Nugent and an overweight Pekingese called Tricki Woo, James find he is on a learning curve as steep as the hills around him.

The Return of Note finds Mma Ramotswe in a compromising situation when her past catches up with her. But things are looking brighter for her assistant, Mma Makutsi, when she takes up ballroom dancing... The Ceremony sees Mma Ramotswe's agency work under control at last, so she has time to take care of her own problems. Can she release her fiancé Mr J. L. B. Matekoni from his rash undertaking to do a charity parachute jump?

Publisher's Summary

Mma Ramotswe is still engaged to Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni and wonders when a day for the wedding will be named. But she is anxious to avoid putting too much pressure on her fiancé, for indeed he has other things on his mind - notably a frightening request from the pushy matron of the Orphan Farm.

Mma Ramotswe herself has weighty matters to address. She has been approached by a wealthy lady and asked to check up on several suitors. Are these men just interested in her money? This may be difficult to find out, but Mma Ramotswe is, of course, a very intuitive lady.

What the Critics Say

"I haven't read anything with such unalloyed pleasure for a long time." (Sunday Telegraph)"I was enchanted by the character of Precious Ramotswe, the sly humour of Alexander McCall Smith's writing and his deft evocation of a culture." (Anthony Minghella)"McCall Smith...appears set to become the latest Scottish international bestseller, rivalling the success of fellow Edinburgh authors J. K. Rowling, Ian Rankin and Irvine Welsh." (Sunday Herald)

When I listen to Ladies Detective Agency books what I'm looking for is to bask in the hot African sun while casually watching my old friends Mma Ramotswe and Mme Makutsi solve life's little problems. This book completely lived up to my hopes.

I felt that this book particularly excels in 'people problems'. How to deal with unreasonable requests, how to broach difficult subjects, how to judge someone's true character. This is one of the things that the series does so well, present relatable issues and deal with them one by one with Smith's wonderful easy charm.

If you want a book as reassuring as a nice cup of tea and your favourite blanket, this is the one.